Homeless Fort Worth veteran hopes to reunite with dog after settling in new RV

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth veteran who was forced to give up his dog while experiencing homelessness now hopes to reunite with his pet after settling in a newly gifted RV.

FOX 4 got the full tour on Thursday; Tom Miner is settling into his new place, and multiple times he said that he feels like he's in heaven. 

Fort Worth veteran's story

For Miner, stepping into his new RV made him feel, in his own words, like, "Dorothy in the ‘Wizard of Oz.’" 

Except there was no yellow brick road or ruby slippers on his journey home. Instead, there were long nights spent in a tent on the streets of Fort Worth.

He does have one thing in common with Dorothy though — a beloved dog, though his is named Jake. 

What they're saying:

"I didn't know anything was gonna come from my letter, or what I did," Miner said. "I just did what I did to save my life."

Forced to give up his dog

The backstory:

Last Saturday, Miner made the difficult decision to leave jake outside Fort Worth Fire Station 8. The veteran wrote a heartbreaking letter that he could no longer care for Jake if he was going to get his life back on track.  

"That was the number one hardest thing that I ever had to do," Miner said. 

Jake is in good hands with the crew, and now Tom is getting a little help too.

"The floodgates opened and all these beautiful people came into my life that I'd never had before." 

The Fort Worth Fire Department's homeless outreach programs and enforcement, or HOPE Team, is helping Tom with medical and dental appointments. 

New RV for Tom Miner

Operation Texas Strong, an organization that gives RVs to homeless veterans, was able to find him one from Bennett's Camping Center, a family-owned business in Granbury. 

What they're saying:

"It was heartwarming," said Stacy Rist on behalf of the camping store. "It was really cool. Yeah, I'm so glad God allowed us to do that."

Tom gave FOX 4 a tour of his new home, complete with air conditioning, kitchen, bathroom, a couple of comfy recliners, and a bed.

"Jake will have to pick his side," Miner said. "Yeah. That's just the way it works." 

Tom isn't one who seeks attention, and he did not expect his story to go viral. He's truly humbled by the support. 

"To me, no matter how hard the decision is, if you made the right one that it could change everything, and it did." 

He does want to get Jake back at some point in the future once he's settled in. For now, he's soaking it in. 

"It's just overwhelming," Miner said. "There ain't no words, there ain't no words." 

Except maybe just five... There's no place like home. Miner is overwhelmed by the support and extremely humbled. And most importantly, he can't wait for Jake to see it. 

Fort Worth